The Grove City College men’s basketball team has accepted an invitation to play in the 2008 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Southern Championship Tournament. Grove City (17-10 overall) is the No. 7 seed in this year’s tournament and will visit second-seeded Carnegie Mellon (16-9) today at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

It is Grove City’s second consecutive ECAC Tournament bid. Overall, it is the Wolverines’ seventh all-time trip to the ECAC Tournament. Grove City also qualified for the ECAC Tournament in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2003.

Grove City finished 9-3 in Presidents’ Athletic Conference play this year, sharing the top spot in the regular season with Bethany. Grove City dropped a 64-63 decision to Washington & Jefferson in the PAC Championship Tournament semifinals Feb. 28.

Carnegie Mellon went 6-8 in the University Athletic Association, good for fifth place. Each of the UAA’s first four teams advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

Prior to this season, Grove City and Carnegie Mellon played each other during the regular season for 23 straight years. Overall, Grove City leads the all-time series, 60-48. The teams have never met in postseason play.

The winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal will play either No. 3 Misericordia or No. 6 Juniata in Saturday’s semifinals. Misericordia will host Juniata Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Wednesday’s other quarterfinal games are No. 8 Dickinson at No. 1 Albright and fourth-seeded Gwynedd-Mercy hosting No. 5 Alvernia.

The highest-seeded team remaining after the quarterfinals will host the semifinals Saturday and the championship game Sunday afternoon.

This is Grove City’s 11th all-time postseason appearance since joining the NCAA in 1956. The Wolverines participated in the NCAA Tournament in 1976, 1979, 1983 and 1989.